I am a linguist, which means I study language in all its forms and uses, especially the daily tasks we take for granted: conversations with friends and co-workers, e-mail, exchanges at stores, encounters with strangers. Did you know that every time we speak or write, we are expressing something about ourselves? I love language so much I stayed in school 5 years after college to earn a Ph.D. Then I taught, and wrote, and tutored, and taught some more. I recently published Grammar: A Pocket Guide, which is the book I wanted to be able to buy and couldn't find on the shelves. It is a grammar-for-intelligent adults, people who once learned what a predicate is and forgot, or never learned, or hesitate before using a comma. I am a professor at Marymount Manhattan College (where I recently held a Distinguished Chair fellowship) and the co-founder and current director of the MMC Center for Teaching Innovation and Excellence. I also teach at Columbia University and have taught at the University of Cambridge, England. My scholarship includes five textbooks, over 30 peer-reviewed articles in journals internationally, essays in academic and other venues, book and film reviews, and dozens of conference presentations. I have written for The New York Daily News and The New York Times, including as a contributor to The Times' Learning Network blog for teachers and The New York Times in Education.I have appeared on many radio programs, including NPR's The Academic Minute.My most adventurous activity was as film producer and director, creating The Three Rs, a linguistics tutorial for professors.Specialties: Author, College Professor, Linguist, Grammar Maven, Pedagogy, Language, Teacher, Workshop Presenter, Media Personality, Columnist, English Language Expert, New York Times, Marymount Manhattan College, Blogs, Speech Pathology